Self retracting cable extension problems

[RonA]

Sometime ago somebody posted that they had purchased one of these off Ebay.
Thinking about the number of cables I have running over the garage floor I thought thats a good idea & followed suit.
Unfortunately when it arrived I was disappointed with the speed it retacted & the fact it didnt retract fully. Having put up with its workings for nearly a year I decided to do someting about it.
I dismantled it despite being fitted with security screws everywhere, BIG mistake the scroll spring went ‘boing’ & spilled out all over the workshop floor Warning DO NOT DISMANTLE these reels.
Finally after much puzzling I got the reel back together & during the process realised how to increase the tension on the spring, improving recovery speed & the reel now fully retracts.
Remove the end socket & cable stop. Fully pull out the cable from the reel until it locks. Using something like a heavy nut, tie some string to the nut, attach the loose end to the end of the cable with lecky tape. Insert the nut in the reel & pass it round the drum in the same direction as the cable unwinds on the drum. Once the nut is round the drum pull it & the loose end of the cable round the drum forming another loop of cable. Pull on the cable until the drum locks again & you will have increased the preload on the scroll spring. Repeat until the cable retracts fully & at the correct speed (remember not to let go of the loose end as you have temporaily removed the cable stop). Refit cable stop & end socket.
Think this might also work on auto retracting air lines.
RonA

 

[Turbo]

Great tip!

That's basically the same thing you do to roller blinds - pull them down then roll them back up manually.